This web site traces
Gerhardstein genealogy starting about 1698 in Germany and France, and though I watch for one, I've
not found another web site on the Internet specializing exclusively in the
genealogy and history of the Gerhardstein surname. You may find that this
web site is one of very few that provides locations of points of interest using
GPS coordinates. Please contact me for clarification.

The purpose of this web
site is to create a presence on the Internet for promoting research and
interest in the Gerhardstein surname, and to encourage communication and
information sharing among related family branches. Because it is so rare,
the Gerhardstein surname represents a very tightly defined group, and 175 years
after immigration the name still is most often encountered in Ohio.

There are currently 4
Gerhardstein branches known to have immigrated to the USA. These are summarized below. In addition, there is one Gerhardstein
branch known in Germany, and one in France.

This site also provides
URL links to web pages about the play "Der Speerwurf," ( The Spear
Toss ) performed in Gerolstein, Germany during the years 1953, 1986, and
2000. The play's main character, Graf (Count) Ulrich von Gerhardstein,
manages to woo his love, Katharina von Pyrmont, after being challenged by her
father, Dietrich von Pyrmont, to toss a spear from a Burg Gerhardstein balcony
to Munterley, across the KylValley.

The newest addition to
this web page is a list of Gerhardstein descendants who served in the military
during the major wars. I currently have 4 listed for WWI and 6 for
WWII. If you know of additions, please send me email.

If you are a
Gerhardstein descendant or related to us through a collateral line, please let
us know of your presence by joining and posting to the mailing list, or by
electronic mail to my email address. We're
always interested in learning more about what others are doing.
Electronic mail addresses of other Gerhardsteins on the Internet are listed
further down on this web page. If you are planning a Gerhardstein Family Reunion, and send me your information, I
can post it here on these pages. Also, we need your help. See the
section How You Can Help below.

There exists a few
family history puzzles, still unsolved. The major puzzles at this time
include 1) ancestry and descendants of William L Gerhardstein (1864-1932).
Please see PUZZLES section below. NOTE the
ancestry of Paul Gerhardstein was resolved via communications from Pirmasens, Germany.

In constructing these
pages, I have tried to use only web programming constructions, which are
standard among all of the major web browsers. I have purposely avoided
many modern and exotic web programming techniques that might not be supported
in all browsers. Thus, I have tried to concentrate more on information
presentation than on graphic style. However, if you notice anything in
the rendering of this web page that does not appear graphically correct on your
computer, please let me know.

In addition to email,
you can usually reach me via the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), whenever I am
online. My AIM ID is LHGerhardstein. Please send me email
first. If you have installed AIM version 5.5 or higher, you can try
calling me using voice over the Internet, though I have not found this method
of communication to be highly reliable.

If you have questions
regarding the Gerhardstein family history, or our collateral lines, please
email me and I will do my best to answer, or direct you to others who may be
able to help you.

The following chart shows
my Gerhardstein ancestor line using Ahnentafel notation. In this system,
the root person's number is 1. The number of any person's father is 2
times that person's number. The mother's number is 2 times the person's
number plus 1, as follows:

From the Ahnentafel chart
above, you can determine how we are related (e.g. second cousin, third cousin,
etc.) Make this same chart for yourself and find the common
ancestor. Get the number of the common ancestor in your chart and in my
chart. If the smaller number is between 8 and 15, we are second cousins,
if between 16 and 31, third cousins, if between 32 and 63, fourth cousins,
etc. If the 2 number are in the same range (e.g. 8-15, 16-31, 32-63) then
no removed. If one number's range is twice the other's then once removed.
If one number's range is 4 times the other's, then twice removed. If one
number's range is 8 times the other, then three times removed, etc.

Some information on this
web page was provided by the Cercle Généalogique d'Alsace, Archives du
Bas-Rhin, 5 rue Fischart , 67000 Strasbourg, France, and is presented here with their
permission. We are deeply indebted to Professeur Jean Schweitzer for the
article(s) he published in the Cercle Généalogique d'Alsace Proceedings in
about 1980-81.

We are most grateful to
the Pirmasens Genealogical Study Group, Pirmasens, Germany and especially Ms. Gabriele Herold
a researcher in that organization for sending information about the most distant
Gerhardstein generations known, and ancestor Johann Georg Gerhardstein
(1698-1778), Hauenstein, Germany. We also thank Mr. Bernhard Braun
for research assistance regarding Gerhardsteins of Busenberg, Germany, and helping to correct my vital
data in the Georg Peter Gerhardstein family group.

Plenty of up-to-date
information has been gleaned from the books, web pages, and email communication
of our collateral lines. These include the web pages and email of Janet
Hunt, Rachelle Ibrahim, Denise Pitzen (Neiss & Winter families of Alsace,
Ohio, and Indiana), Dianne Croak, Harold Bacher (Bacher family of Texas), David
Hill (McBay family of Texas), Vince Falter (Dick, Falter, & Wurm families
of St. Stephens, Seneca County, Ohio), and Beth Ann (Miller) Walliser (Brown
& Walliser families of Seneca County, Ohio). To the extent that these
lines share common threads with Gerhardsteins, I have been able to benefit from
their efforts.

However, by far the
largest collection of gleaned information came from the excellent manuscript
RUFFING IN AMERICA, compiled by members of the Bellevue, Ohio Ruffing family in about 1985.
These families are the descendants of Joseph and Katherine (Schwartz) Ruffing
who immigrated from Bexbach, Germany in 1835. The principle editor
is Mrs. Peggie Ruffing, Bellevue, Ohio [ spouse of my second cousin Mark
Ruffing ] and to her we owe many thanks. Because the son of John, Anthony
Gerhardstein (431-4) married Theresa Ruffing (A1-B2-C3 in the Ruffing book) d/o
Peter & Agatha (Leis) Ruffing, they and their many descendants are included
in the Ruffing book. That group makes up a large portion of the
Gerhardstein family still living in the Bellevue area, and northern Ohio.

The list of people who
have sent me photographs (some already scanned) for this web page is
growing. They include Mary A. Gerhardstein, Linda (Gerhardstein) Oatley,
David Hill, Beth Ann (Miller) Walliser, Marilyn (Holmer) Fox, and Anita (Meng)
Pozsgay. In addition, some of the photos presented on this page are from
my own collection. I use an Olympus C-1200 digital camera and Microtek
ScanMaker E6 to digitize photographs for web page display.

Finally, a special
thanks and recognition to Ann A. Allen, Richland, Washington who helped transcribe and translate
several ancient German records and taught me how to conduct genealogy research
at the RichlandLDSFamilyHistoryCenter. Ann is an expert on reading
and translating old German language handwriting. Patrons of the Richland FHC and members of The Tri-City Genealogical Society (TCGS)
are indeed lucky for the many services Ann provides.

The name Gerhardstein is
very uncommon and unusual. There are presently no more than about 125-150
households listed in national telephone directories. Even in Germany, where the name originated, very
few have encountered this name. I was told by friends in Germany that Gerhardstein is an unusual
German surname because it contains two surnames in one, Gerhard and Stein.

The Gerhardstein surname
probably originated near Gerolstein,
Germany, where there is an ancient castle ruin named Burg Gerhardstein.
First constructed in about the year 1115, the castle was named by and for
Gerhard von Blankenheim, the land baron who first built it. Thus, the
name Gerhardstein, which translates literally to "Gerhard's
Castle." The medieval castle, Burg Gerhardstein, also known as
Löwenburg (Lion's Castle), was occupied until the mid-1800s.

Exact relationship of
the modern USA/Canada Gerhardstein family to early residents of Burg
Gerhardstein, and the surrounding region, remains unknown to us at this
time. There is a mid-1600 notation of a Pontleon Gerhardstein, living
near Gerolstein. However the relationship of Pontleon to the present day
family has not been determined. Also, there exists evidence that
Gerhardstein was in use as a surname during the 1400s and earlier.

Four major Gerhardstein
branches are known to have immigrated to the USA. In summary, these are:

Johann Adam Gerhardstein and his
descendants: This today is the most prevalent Gerhardstein family in
the USA. Johann and family came
to Seneca County, Ohio in 1830. Minor branches
are headed by 6 children of Johann: John, Dorothea, Mary, Joseph, Anthony,
and Laurence. Johann is person #43 in charts that follow.

Laurent Gerhardstein and his descendants:
Laurent, his son Andrew, and daughter Catharina (Schneider) came to Kentucky during the 1850s.
Laurent is person #25 in charts that follow.

John Heft, a descendant of #8 Georg Peter
Gerhardstein, emigrated from Dimbach, Germany to New York City, NY and Connecticut in about 1890: His
descendants reside in New York and Connecticut. John Heft is person
#811 in these charts.

Joseph/John Gerhardstein, son William L.
Gerhardstein, and descendants, who lived in Massachusetts, Indiana,
Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio: This branch first
became known to me in November, 2000 during a research trip to the Ohio Historical Society. I
have not yet determined where this branch fits in.

In
addition, at least one Gerhardstein branch remains in Germany. It is probable that yet
undiscovered branches exist in France, Ukraine, and elsewhere.

The numbering system
used on this web page to identify descendants is essentially the Henry System,
invented by Reginald Buchanan Henry in about 1935 to identify descendants of
American presidents. Other descendant numbering systems frequently used
are de Villiers/Pama System, the Register System, and the D'Aboville
System. Some major genealogy organizations have invented and standardized
their own descendant identification systems.

Each of these numbering
systems has its own merits and drawbacks, and while I do not endorse nor
recommend the use of one over another, I chose to use a variant of the Henry
System on this page, at this time, because of its simplicity and
compactness. Note that the Henry System fails for family size greater
than about 30. To learn more about genealogy numbering schemes, see http://www.saintclair.org/numbers/,
the excellent web page "Numbering Systems in Genealogy," by Richard
A. Pence.

Currently descendant
identification numbers used on this web page signify where a person, and
his/her ancestors are positioned in their respective family group sheets,
starting with the family of Paul and Margaretha. Since Georg Adam is the
4th child in the first family, his number is 4. Johann is 3rd child, so
his number is 43. My great grandfather Anthony was 8th so his number is
438. My grandfather Laurence's number is 438-8. My father Carl's
number is 438-82. My Aunt Agatha's number is 438-81. My sister
Mary's number is 438-821, my number is 438-822, my children are 438-822-X, and
my grandchildren are 438-822-XX. When appropriate, I have identified
spouses as NUMBER-S regardless of gender, and NUMBER-S1, NUMBER-S2 in the case
of multiple marriages.

On this page, the
letters A, B, C, etc. are used to represent the numbers 10, 11, 12, etc.
The letter X is used when the person's position in their parents' family group
sheet is unknown to me. If and when additional ancestor generations are
identified, this scheme can be easily adapted to accommodate the new
information. Note that this scheme is a minor variation of true Henry
System, as there the letter X was used to represent the 10th child in a
family. I chose the letters A, B, C, etc. to stay consistent with other
web pages on the Internet that use this same notation.

The popular de
Villiers/Pama System has been used in documentation by some of our collateral
lines, e.g. the book "Ruffing In America." De Villiers/Pama is
probably more useful, and has higher merit than the Henry System, for a book,
manuscript, or long descendant outline than to identify scattered
individuals. If you wish to convert the Henry numbering system used on
this web site to de Villiers/Pama notation, simply begin with the letter A and
then insert the letters B, C, D, etc. before each digit of the Henry System ID,
after first converting digits A, B, C etc. back to 10, 11, 12 ...
Example: In Henry System, my ID number is 438-822. In de Villiers/Pama
notation, my ID is "A B4 C3 D8 E8 F2 G2."

The earliest known
Gerhardstein and ancestor of modern day Gerhardsteins is Johann Georg
Gerhardstein (1698-1778) and his wife Maria Barbara Dreyer (1705-1755) of Hauenstein, Germany. Currently I have their
children as shown below, though I still am uncertain about the child order of
the first 4 children. This information was sent by Ms. Gabriele Herold of the
Pirmasens Genealogical Study Group:

Until June 6, 2001, the earliest known, verified ancestor of modern day Gerhardsteins
was Paul Gerhardstein, born circa 1733, place unknown. Throughout his
lifetime, Paul's occupation was working as a shepherd (Berger) in
Rheinland-Pfalz and Alsace.

Paul Gerhardstein and
Margaretha Lerch were married in Busnberg, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany on 8 Jan
1753, as recorded in the town's Catholic church records. Paul and wife
Margaretha (nee Lerch) started raising their family at Busenberg in about
1754. Records in the civil records and parish books of Busenberg yield
the names of 12 children of Paul and Marguerite:

Paul and
several of his sons emigrated from Busenberg, Germany to Bas-Rhin, Alsace sometime about 1770. In Alsace, Paul continued his occupation as a
shepherd (Berger). He died at Salmbach, Bas-Rhin, Alsace23 Jul 1804. Marguerite died at Salmbach,
15 Dec 1795.

Johann
Adam MUELLER ++ 1. Margaretha GERHARDSTEIN

Paul's
first child, Margaretha was born about 1754 in Lindelbrunnerhoff. She
died 22 Jan 1830, Busenberg, Germany. Margaretha married Johann
Adam Mueller. Their known children are:

Paul's
second child, Georg Jakob was born about 1755 in Busenberg. He died 8 Nov 1814, Seltz, Bas-Rhin, Alsace. On 5 Oct 1778, Georg Jakob married Catherine Offner (1754- ) d/o Jean
Offner & Barbe Seiberling. Laurent (no. 25) and his son Andrew
emigrated in about 1850, settling at Woodbury, Kentucky in 1853. Several descendants
from this branch have contacted the Gerhardsteins. But because only
daughters survived, there are no Gerhardstein surnames in the USA from the Laurent (no. 25)
branch. The children of Georg Jakob and Catherine are:

Paul's
fourth child Georg Adam, born about 1758, also a shepherd, emigrated to Siegen,
Bas-Rhin, Alsace in about 1780. Georg Adam had 5 children with first wife
Dorothea Christ and 2 with second wife Barbe Ott. Children of Georg Adam
and Dorothea, assumed d/o Jacob Christ & Barbe Klein, are:

Georg
Adam Gerhardstein died at Siegen on 26 May 1823, and Barbe (nee Ott) on 23 Oct 1835.

5. Georg
Michel GERHARDSTEIN ++ Anne Maria FUHRMANN

Paul's
fifth child Georg Michel, was born in Wilgartswiesen, Rheinland-Pfalz and
emigrated to Alsace with his father and brothers.
He resided in Niederroedern, Bas-Rhin, and died there on 7 Mar 1833. We have record of 3 children of Georg Michel and
Anne Maria Fuhrmann, d/o Francois Fuhrmann and Elisabeth Dietrich. They
are:

First child of Paul and Marguerite, Wilhelm was born about 1753 in
Busenberg. He died 29 Oct 1821, Salmbach, Bas-Rhin, Alsace. On 8 May 1786, Wilhelm married Anne Barbe Bauman (1758-1837) d/o Jakob
Bauman & Eva Pommer. Descendants of Wilhelm are known to live in France. Wilhelm and Anne Barbe's
children are:

Paul's
8th child Georg Peter, was born about 1765, probably at Busenberg,
Germany. Where-as his father and brothers emigrated to Alsace, Georg
Peter appears to have lived at Busenberg all his life. He died on 18 May
1834 in Bärenbrunnerhof, and Barbara sometime after that. He and Barbara
had 10 children or record. Thanks to Steven Messier of Connecticut, and
Bernhard Braun at the Pirmasens Genealogy Group for working with us to sort out
this family group. Descendants of #81 Johann Adam live in New York and
Connecticut. See #811 Barbara Gerhardstein.

Paul's
9th child, daughter Anna Maria, was born about 1766, at Busenberg,
Germany. She emigrated with her parents' family to Salmbach, Bas-Rhin,
where she married Francois Caspar Liebel s/o Sebastien Liebel & Catharine
Friedrich. Their 10 recorded children, all born at Salmbach, are:

Johann Adam (no. 43), third child of
Georg Adam Gerhardstein, is the ancestor of nearly all
Gerhardstein surname people currently living in the United States of America
and Canada. To the left is displayed the actual signature of Johann, digitized
and copied to this page nearly 184 years after he signed the birth registration
of his oldest son John in December 1817. Johann's handwriting is of the
old Fraktur style, not seen much these days. Making out
"Johan"and "Adam" is easy. With a Fraktur Guide and a
little patience, each letter of the name "Gerhardstein" can also be
seen.

Johann Adam married
Magdalena Anna Michel d/o Antoine Michel (a lumber man) and Regine Neiss on 19
Jan 1817 in Siegen, Bas-Rhin. By the time Johann Adam and Magdalena
Anna emigrated from Bas-Rhin in 1830, they had 4 living children and 3 whom had
died. Johann Adam and Magdalena left Siegen during mid-1830, and arrived
in Thompson Twp., Seneca County, Ohio about August or September 1830. It
may be that Catholic clergy of Bas-Rhin helped them arrange their emigration
from Alsace to Ohio. This was related to me many years ago by my father
Carl Gerhardstein.

Civil records of Siegen,
Bas-Rhin list Johann's occupation as Laborer and Tailleur. Family
tradition also holds that Johann may have been a teacher in Siegen as a young
man. However, I have not found any documentation in the records of
Bas-Rhin to support that theory.

In Thompson Twp., Seneca
County, Ohio, Johann became a farmer. As evidenced by the inscription on
his grave marker at St. Michael's Cemetery, he was a leader among the Thompson
Twp. German-Alsatian community. The translated inscription reads,
"Johann Gerhardstein - our unforgettable Father of the Community and first
settler. Died 1 September 1849 in the 60th year of his age."
On the iron cross next to Johann is the inscription, "Magdalena
Gerhardstein - died 10 August 1849 at the age of 57 years. Only the husk
is covered. The gift of the Spirit is eternal life."

Johann and Magdalena
died within a one month period of each other during the 1849 Cholera.
Their markers are the distinctive iron crosses common among German Alsatian
communities of that era. Several years ago, the family bonded together to
restore the grave markers of Johann and Magdalena, so that Gerhardstein
generations that follow will be able to view them in the proper positions.

There exists some
evidence suggesting that Johann may have acted as a mentor and facilitator for
residents of Siegen, Alsace who followed the Gerhardsteins to Seneca County,
Ohio. A few of the surnames which appear both in 1800-1850 Siegen &
Bas-Rhin record books, and in 1830-1900 Seneca County include Billman, Christ,
Denninger (Dendinger), Fritz, Holler, Koenig, Lehman, Michel, Neiss, Omlor,
Ott, and Rheinhart.

My attempts to locate
mid-1830 immigration records and ship list entries, at the U.S. National
Archives, for the Gerhardsteins have been unsuccessful. Immigration
patterns of the time suggest they may have traveled via Le Havre and New York
City. But for reasons unknown, the 1830 ship lists are missing from the
New York immigration records that survived. Many of the gaps in these
ship lists can be attributed to fires and lacking record preservation methods
in the not well cared for archives of the 1800s.

At least 3 more children
were born to Magdalena and Johann Adam after arriving in Ohio, 2 sons and 1
daughter. Of their 10 known children, 6 lived to adulthood: John,
Dorothea, Mary, Joseph, Anthony, and Laurence. Note that family tradition
may relate that Johann and Magdalena had 11 children. I do not doubt
there could be 11, however, to this date I have found evidence of 10 only: 7 in
Siegen, Bas-Rhin records, and 3 in records of Seneca County, Ohio and U.S.
census. The known children of Johann Adam and Magdalena are:

John
(no. 431) and Catherine lived at Bismark, Huron County, Ohio near St. Sebastien
Parish. Anthony (no. 438) and Anna lived at Thompson Twp., Seneca County,
Ohio. Dorothea (no. 435) and Jacob Schwartz lived first in Seneca County,
then later in Mercer County, Ohio. Mary (no. 436) and Joseph Neiss moved
to Pulaski County, Indiana. Some family historians believed that Johann's
son Joseph (no. 437) may have gone back to Germany in about 1865-70.
However, I have seen no documentation to support the theory. In any case,
Joseph's place/date of death are unknown. In about 1851, Laurence (no.
43A) relocated to Centralia, Illinois and then via covered wagon to Oklahoma
and Bowie, Texas. Laurence altered his name to Garhart, perhaps to foil
being traced by his siblings.

Gerhardstein family
members who still live around Bellevue, Ohio in Huron, Erie, Sandusky, and
Seneca Counties, are mainly the descendants of John (no. 431) and Anthony (no.
438). Descendants of John (no. 431) organize the tri-annual Gerhardstein
family reunions at Bellevue, Ohio. Gerhardsteins around Tipp City, Ohio
are descendants of Joseph (no. 437). Known descendants of Mary (no. 436)
live in Indiana and California. No descendants of Dorothea (no. 435) have
been located to date, but possibly live around Celina, Mercer County,
Ohio. Known descendants of Laurence (no. 43A), live in Arkansas,
Oklahoma, Texas, Calilfornia, Oregon, and the southeast.

25.
Laurent GERHARDSTEIN ++ Maria Anna ORHY

Georg
Jakob Gerhardstein's third child, Laurent (no. 25), is a first cousin of Johann Adam Gerhardstein (no. 43) of Ohio, and also an
immigrant to the USA. Laurent was born 4 Oct 1785 in Trimbach, Bas-Rhin
and died about Aug 1862 at Bowling Green, Butler County, Kentucky.
In about 1850, Laurent came with his son Andrew to Butler County,
Kentucky. Daughter Catherine and Joseph Schneider also immigrated to
Kentucky at about the same time. Laurent married Maria Anna Orhy, d/o Andre
Orhy & Catherine Heyd, on 15 Sep 1818 in Seltz, Bas-Rhin. Two
children born in Bas-Rhin as follows:

Laurent's
first child Andrew was born 28 Mar 1821 in Bas-Rhin and died 14 Oct 1871 in
Bowling Green, Kentucky. He immigrated to Kentucky with his father in
about 1850, settling on Little Big Muddy Creek, near Woodbury, Kentucky.
He married Mary Ellen Phelps (1831-1857), d/o Julian R Phelps & Sarah
Smith. Four children have been reported by descendant Helena C.
Stansfield (251-421-X), all born at Woodbury, Kentucky:

Laurent's
grandson Joseph Schneider (252-1) married Julia L Woerne, d/o Michael Waerne
and Julia A Flack. A farmer and distiller, Joseph was born near
Strasbourg, France. He is of Spanish-Swiss descent. He learned the
trade of a cabinet maker in France and emigrated to America in 1871. He
landed in New York 1 May 1871. He remained there until Nov 1871 and then
went to Bowling Green, Kentucky. He married Julia Woerne in 1874, a
native of Bowling Green. Joseph was reported to be a tavern operator,
leading farmer, Democrat, and prominent business man of Warren County.
Julia died in 1899, Joseph in 1908. The children reported by Mary
O'Conner (252-15) [ she was very old when she corresponded with me ], a
daughter of this couple, are:

Johann
and Magdalena's first child John Gerhardstein was 12 years of age when the
family emigrated from Bas-Rhin Alsace to Ohio in mid-1830. John was born
on 16 Dec 1817 in Siegen, Bas-Rhin. In Ohio, he received his schooling at
St. Michael's. Historical reports about Seneca County relate that John's
father helped construct St. Michael's.

John married Catherine
Host, d/o of Johann Host and Barbara Wittenmeyer, in January 1841 at St.
Alphonsus Catholic Church in Bronson Twp., Huron County. Catherine, born
9 Jan 1821, was the 7th of 9 children in the family of Johann & Barbara
Host. A researcher in Michigan reports that some of the 9 children in
this family were born at Bubenhausen, Germany. John and Catherine lived
on a farm at Bismark, Sherman Twp., Huron County near St. Sebastien
Parish. They had 11 children. John died on 29 Sep 1890 at
Bismark. Catherine died 10 Jan 1892.

All of Catherine Host's
surviving siblings departed Huron County, Ohio during the 1840s and relocated
to Wright Twp., Ottawa County, Michigan. Her brother Henry Host in 1844
was possibly one of the first to settle in the wilderness of Wright Twp and was
instrumental in establishing St. Joseph's Catholic church. These were not
the only Seneca & Huron County residents relocating to Michigan. At
about the same time several other Huron County familiar surname families from
Ohio moved to Wright, Michigan. These included Omlor (Umlor), Zimmer,
Ruffing, Braun (Brown), and others.

Thanks to Linda A
(Gerhardstein) Oatley (431-473-2), Bellevue, OH for the photograph at
left. The men in this excellent old photo are the 5 adult sons of John
and Catherine (Host) Gerhardstein. They are from left to right, Joseph,
Jacob, Henry (priest), Michael, and Anthony.

Most of the Gerhardstein
residents remaining in the Bellevue and Huron County, Ohio region are
descendants of John and Catherine's son Anthony (431-4) and his wife Theresa Ruffing.
This is just one example of the several marriages between Gerhardsteins and
Ruffings. The Ruffing family of Bellevue has done a wonderful job
documenting the descendants of Theresa and Anthony, a Bellevue area brick
maker. These include the family of Rodger Gerhardstein (431-473), who
host the tri-annual family reunions. Anthony operated the brick yards at
Bismark near St. Sebastian's, and then bought the old Kern brickyards on
Gardner Road in Bellevue, living there the rest of his life.

The descendant line of
John (431), Anthony (431-4), Otto (431-41), and Arnold (431-412) represent 4
generations of Gerhardstein kiln operators. An August 12, 1948 article
from the Bloomville Gazette [reprinted 2002 in the Attica Hub] relates the
story of the St. Stephen, Ohio brick factory operated by Otto Gerhardstein and
later by his son Arnold. The article states that the Gerhardsteins began
operating the St. Stephen kiln in 1906, that Otto's father [Anthony] operated
the Bellevue kiln, and that his grandfather [John] operated a kiln and
"burned the bricks for the Bismark Church in Huron County."
That would be St. Sebastien.

Joseph (431-5) moved to
Sandusky, Ohio and many of the Sandusky area Gerhardsteins are his
descendants. Among the descendants of Joseph are some who changed their
surname to Gerhard. Joseph is reported to have been a music professor in
Sandusky. I would appreciate anyone knowing more about Joseph and his
musical qualifiactions contacting me.

Debbie
Smith, a descendant of Joseph Gerhardstein, sent me the following narrative,
which comes from a 1930 St. Mary's Church and School book, "In 1881, Mr.
Joseph Gerhardstein became choir director and until the time of his death 29
years later he devoted himself untiringly to the parish, teaching in school and
directing the choir."

Michael (431-9), not
desiring to follow in the family traditional farming profession, moved to
northern Kentucky in order to pursue a different occupation. He is the
ancestor to many of the Gerhardsteins living around Cincinnati, northern
Kentucky, and Cleveland. Michael married Teresa Hengelbrok in Newport,
KY, her birthplace. He moved his new family back to the Bellevue area
long enough that their first 3 children were born in Ohio. They then moved
back to Kentucky in about 1890 and lived there the remainder of his life.
Michael and Teresa lived at 511 Patterson, Newport, where Michael worked as a
clerk. Two of Michael and Teresa's daughters became nuns, Mary Irene (SR
Andrea) (431-93), and Mary Ruth (SR Redempta) (431-95).

Recently, we learned
that Michael had a twin sister Catharina (431-8), who must have died as a
child, as nothing is know of her. A copy of their 9 Oct 1855 baptism
records from St. Sebastien parish records (CLICK
HERE) has been provided by Denise Pitzen of Curtice, Ohio [ related to us
via Neiss ], and Bowling Green University Library, Bowling Green, Ohio.

Neither Jacob (431-6)
nor Anna (431-A) ever married, and both lived in John & Catherine's Bismark
family home all their lives. Descendants in the Michael (431-9) line
reported visiting their Uncle Jake and Aunt Anna at the Bismark home during
trips to Ohio, and also their excellent homemade sausages. Also living in
the family home with Jacob and Anna from about 1891 to 1922 is Louisa
Gerhardstein, whose identity has not been confirmed. In various census,
Louisa is listed as both cousin and daughter.

John and Catherine's
youngest son Henry J. (431-B) became a Roman Catholic Priest. He was schooled
at Canisius College, Buffalo, NY and St.
Mary Seminary, Cleveland, OH. He was ordained by Bishop Horstmann on
17 Dec 1892. He then became the Pastor of SS. Phillipp & James in
Canal Fulton, OH on 28 Jun 1898, and Pastor of St. Peters, Cleveland, OH on 30
Jun 1901. It is reported by family members that he also served in a
pastoral capacity at St. Sebastien Parish.

Johann
and Magdalena's daughter Dorothea (aka Dora & Dolly) Gerhardstein was born
at Siegen, Alsace on 15 Dec 1824. She was the next oldest surviving
sibling to John and was 5 years old when the family emigrated to Ohio. In
about 1847, Dora married Jacob Schwartz, apparently a relative of Katherine
Schwartz, wife of Joseph Ruffing and also an ancestor of the Bellevue, Ohio
Ruffing family. After marrying, Jacob and Dorothea lived briefly in
Seneca County and are listed in the 1850 Seneca County census with their 2
oldest children. However, by 1860 this family had moved west to Mercer
County, Ohio. As listed in the 1860 Mercer County census, their family
numbered 7 children as shown below. Dorothea died on 18 Jan 1904 in
Celina, Mercer County.

Jacob's father Jacob Sr.
owned property next to John Host, father of Catherine wife of John
Gerhardstein. Part of the land that is now Sebastien Catholic Cemetery
was donated by Jacob Schwartz Sr. Beyond the names of 7 offspring listed
below, I know nothing else about this Gerhardstein descendant branch.

Johann
and Magdalena's 6th child Marie Anne (Mary) Gerhardstein was born in Siegen,
Alsace on 12 May 1827. Thus, she probably was 3 years of age when the
family moved from France to America. In about 1850, Mary married Joseph
Neiss, her second cousin. [ I have heard that Joseph and Mary had 14 children,
though I have the names of only ten. ] The ten children listed below were
all born in Seneca County, Ohio. However, sometime later this family and
several others among the German-Alsatian residents of Seneca County relocated
to Pulaski County and White County, Indiana. Mary died on 28 Jan 1902 in
White County, Indiana. [ Though a few in this family have been in contact
with my cousins in Ohio and Michigan, I know very little to nothing about their
history in Indiana. ]

Joseph Neiss was born 14
Jun 1825 in Siegen, Alsace, s/o Jean Daniel Neiss and Marie Anne Bessler who
also emigrated from France to America. Joseph Neiss died October 1904 in
White County, Indiana.

Jean Daniel Neiss'
parents were Michel Neiss Jr. and Anne Marie Beyl. Michel Jr. and Regine
Neiss, Magdalena (Michel) Gerhardstein's mother, were siblings, thus how Mary
and Joseph Neiss are second cousins. Either Michel Neiss Jr. or Sr. was
an official in the Siegen Town Office and for some time was the person who most
often wrote in the Siegen civil record books. Several of the Neiss family
immigrated to Seneca County, Ohio and were present in the early membership of
St. Michael's, (e.g. Fritz, Holler, Neiss) and are buried at St. Michael's
Cemetery.

Johann
and Magdalena's 7th child Joseph Gerhardstein was their last born in
Alsace. He was born on 16 Mar 1830, and only weeks or months old when the
family left Alsace and Europe for America. Joseph's wife was Rebecca
Croxton, from Stark County, Ohio, d/o Samuel Croxton. Joseph and Rebecca
had 4 children, see below. Joseph probably was a farmer, but is also
reported by his descendants to have been a country doctor. Some time
about 1865, Joseph's whereabouts become unclear and stories about his
activities after that year border on legend.

Cousin Robert L.
Gerhardstein, an avid family historian, Dearborn, MI reported that some of
Joseph's descendants believed he may have left to serve as a doctor in the
Civil War, but went back to Germany instead. However, Civil War military
records do not appear to include the name of Joseph Gerhardstein (a gross
mis-spelling is always possible). However, it is possible that the U.S.
Union Army could have contracted with doctors for their services, without them
actually being enlisted in the military. Thus, he could have been a war
doctor and his name might not appear in military rolls. Whatever happened
to Joseph after about 1865 continues to be a mystery.

Johann
and Magdalena's 8th child Anthony Gerhardstein [ my great-grandfather ] was
their first born in America. Anthony was born on 18 Mar 1832 at Flat
Rock, Seneca County, Ohio. Anthony and his wife Anna (nee Zimmer) were
married at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Bronson Twp., Huron County.
Anna was born in Germany on 4 Nov 1832, exact place unknown, d/o Nicholaus and
Mary (Neuman) Zimmer. Nicholas, Mary, and Anna Zimmer came to the U.S.A.
in 1835. Nicholas owned land in Peru Twp., Huron Co., but sold all in
about 1865 and then moved to Wright Twp., Ottawa County, Michigan.
Anthony and Anna farmed in Thompson Twp., Seneca County. Anthony died on
22 May 1908 at Franks, Ohio. Anthony and Anna are buried at St. Michael's
Parish Cemetery, Seneca County. Anthony and Anna had 10 children, see
below. Descendants of Nicholas Zimmer's sons Alphonse and Nicholas Jr.
are known to live in Michigan. Some Ott family descendants of Nicholas
Zimmer still live in and around Peru Twp., Huron County.

Oldest son Joseph Gerhardstein (438-1) is the ancestor of Robert L.
Gerhardstein (438-122), Dearborn, MI, one of our principal Gerhardstein family
historians. Joseph lived at 102 Douglas, Hammond, Indiana where he worked
as a carpenter. Joseph died in East Chicago, IL.

Anthony Gerhardstein Jr.
(438-2) and Sophia (nee Glassner) operated the farm of Anthony & Anna after
their deaths. After the deaths of Anthony Jr. and Sophia, the farm passed
to their son Willie (438-21). There were no heirs in this branch to
receive the farm later on and it passed from the family. The farm was
then owned by the Schneider family and then by the Holmer family, neither of
whom are closely related to Gerhardsteins.

Jacob & Elisabeth
(438-3) Heitz farmed and lived at Norwalk. They are buried at St.
Joseph's Catholic Cemetery, Norwalk.

Daughter Magdalena
(438-4) died in childhood and is buried at St. Michael's, Thompson Twp. close
by her father and mother.

Mary Gerhardstein
(438-5) married Louis Walliser, of Swiss ancestry, who immigrated in 1875 from
Ridushaffer, Alsace at age 14. Louis lived with the (Anthony and Anna)
Gerhardsteins and worked on their farm. Later, in 1891, Albert Walliser
also came to the USA with the assistance of his brother Louis, and Frank and
Mary Gerhardstein. The Walliser brothers left 4 sisters behind in
Alsace. This brief history of the Wallisers came from historians Leonard
Walliser, and Marilyn (Holmer) Fox. Louis and Mary Walliser farmed at
Hopewell Twp., Road 18, near Tiffin. The farm is still being operated by
their descendants. They had 11 children. They are buried at St.
Joseph's Cemetery, Clinton Twp., Seneca County along with several family members.
The undated photograph at left above shows Louis and Mary (Gerhardstein)
Walliser apparently standing on their front porch. This photo was sent to
me by Marilyn (Holmer) Fox, Cincinnati, OH [ spouse of my second cousin ], and
Beth Ann (Miller) Walliser, Indianapolis, IN, spouse of Ned Walliser, a
descendant of Albert Walliser.

John Martin Gerhardstein (438-6) and Lizzie (nee Lehman) lived at 133 Wood St.,
Bellevue, OH. Their young sons Oscar (438-63) and Clarence (438-64) both
died in 1896 of an unknown cause and are buried at Immaculate Conception
Cemetery, Bellevue, OH. Then later in 1900 John and Lizzie named their
6th child Oscar C. (438-66), same as their sons that died 4 years
earlier. Their child Edna (438-65) married Frank Hagar, a Wood St.
neighbor, whose parents immigrated to America from Switzerland in about
1880. John Martin worked as a butcher in Bellevue. After
contracting an unknown illness, John entered a hospital in Toledo, OH, and died
in about 1910.

After John Martin's
death, his widow Lizzie then returned to her family home at Weavers Corners,
just south of Bellevue, OH in Huron County. Upon their father's death,
the young boys of that family went to work for, and to live with different
farmers of the region in return for their board and keep. In 1921 at age
21, Oscar with his mother and two younger sisters, moved to Ft. Wayne,
Indiana. John and Lizzie's son Albert (438-62) became a well known Roman
Catholic priest, was ordained on 19 March 1917, and served at St. Charles Seminary,
Indiana. Oscar's descendants live in Indiana, Ohio, and New Mexico.

Frank Gerhardstein
(438-7) farmed near Rockaway, Ohio (intersection of US224 & SR 67).
Frank married Mary Theresa Meng. The photograph to the left above, taken
at the time of their February 1891 marriage, was provided by Anita (Meng)
Pozsgay of St. Louis, Missouri. [ As Frank Gerhardstein is my great
uncle, Mary Meng is Anita Pozsgay's great aunt. ]

Frank and Mary's oldest
son Clem Gerhardstein (438-71) was well known among the Bellevue family for his
unusual wit and eccentric political views. Clem and his brother Charles
(438-73) both served in World War I. Grandson Louis Weber (438-72X), s/o
Augusta (Gerhardstein) and Edward Weber, an Army PFC, died in combat during
World War II in Northern Italy, January, 1945. [ I do not know where Louis
Weber is buried, perhaps Toledo. ]

Frank Gerhardstein was killed tragically on 10 May 1907 by Pennsylvania
Railroad freight train #429, driven by engineer George Roth, near the box factory,
Tiffin. Details of this tragic event can be found in Seneca County
Coroner records. No blame was placed upon the railroad nor the
engineer. Since Mary had already died, upon Frank's untimely death, the
children of this family became orphans, and went to live with their Uncle
Joseph Meng and Aunt Elizabeth (Ruffing) Meng. During the 1960s,
Rockaway, Ohio, in Scipio Township, Seneca County (Sections 31-32) on US 224
(reported location of the Frank Gerhardstein farm) was destroyed by a tornado.

The photograph at left shows siblings Alphonse, Anna, and Laurence Gerhardstein
[ my grandfather ], the 3 youngest children of (438) Anthony and Anna (Zimmer)
Gerhardstein. This photograph was taken sometime about 1895 or before,
and possibly about the time of Anna's marriage to Andrew Braun (Brown).
This photograph was provided by [ my sister ] Mary A. Gerhardstein, Ontario,
Canada.

Lawrence (438-8) and
Agatha (nee Ruffing) lived at 306 North Sandusky, Bellevue (now a parking lot),
and later at 412 Northwest Street. Lawrence worked as a clerk at Shuggs
Hardware Store in Bellevue.

Oldest daughter Agatha
(438-81) managed the women's clothing department at Ruffing's Store for many
years. Carl (438-82) [ my father ], after graduating from Bellevue High
School, worked in Detroit, and Cleveland as an electrical distribution
operator. Then in 1925, Carl moved west and worked as appliance &
furniture sales manager for Montgomery Ward and as an electrical distribution
substation operator in Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Carl
retired from the Bonneville Power Administration in 1969. After studying
music, Ann (438-83) became a Catholic Family Services social worker in New York
City. After Ann retired due to poor health, she and Agatha lived together
in the home on Northwest Street. Mary Helen (438-84) died at age 16
months of Meningitis. Lawrence, Agatha, Agatha Jr., Ann, and Mary Helen
are all buried at Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery, Bellevue.

Andrew and Anna (Gerhardstein)
(438-9) Brown farmed 160 acres 1 or 2 miles southwest of Frank, Ohio.
Andrew also worked as a brick mason. They are buried at St. Michael's
Cemetery, Thompson Twp. Three of Andrew and Anna's six daughters became
Sisters of Notre Dame, Loretta (SR Mary Joseleen), Stella Marie (SR Mary
Hildalin), and Bertha (SR Mary Andrew). The photograph at the left shows
Andrew Brown with his 3 daughters who became nuns. They are left to right
SR Joseleen, Andrew, SR Hildalin, and SR Mary Andrew. This photograph was
provided to me by Beth Ann (Miller) Walliser, Indianapolis, Indiana, who is a
Brown family descendant. The last of these to survive was Sister
Hildalin, who died 2 July 2002.

A faithful Catholic
family, Andrew himself studied at seminary for 3 years. Anna died during childbirth
in 1916, leaving Andrew and 8 children. It was at that time that Bertha
(age 13) left home to become a novice at St. Michaels, followed by Loretta and
Stella. Andrew Brown was the stone mason who erected the Way of the Cross
at the Sorrowful
Mother Shrine in Marywood, Ohio. The log house where Andrew Brown
grew up is now Historic Lyme Village in Bellevue, Ohio. It was Annie
Brown's house, Andrew's old maid sister. In 1978 it was donated to
Historic Lyme Village. See a schetched picture of it with some
information at http://www.lymevillage.com/.

Alphonse (438-A) taught
grade school in Seneca County as a young man after studying at Heidelberg
College, Tiffin, Ohio. In 1903. Alphonse purchased the general
merchandise store at St. Stephens, which he operated until his death in
1953. His son Maurice (438-A5) then continued operating the St. Stephens
General Store until 1963, when cancellation of the passenger rail trains forced
them to close. Al Gerhardstein, the famous civil liberties attorney in
Cincinnati is a descendant of this family branch. Alphonse, Ludwina,
Maurice, Mary, and other close family are buried at St. Stephens Catholic Church
Cemetery, St. Stephens, Seneca County, Ohio. [ I still remember in 1947
meeting my Great Uncle Alphonse. I was 8 years old. ]

Not many photographs exist of the children of Johann and Magdalena
Gerhardstein, but this picture is one such photograph. This aged and worn
photograph was provided by David Hill (43A-491), Greensboro, North Carolina and
shows Laurence at about age 75.

Laurence (Gerhardstein)
Garhart was the tenth and youngest child born of Johann
and Magdalena. Laurence was born 14 Jul 1835, in Seneca County,
Ohio. Laurence was 14 when his mother and father both died of Cholera in
August and September 1849. There exists many interesting stories and
theories about what happened to Laurence after his mother and father
died. He lived for a time with his married siblings, John, Mary, and
Dorothea. He was present in his brother John's home for the 1850 U.S.
Census of Huron County. It has been variously reported that one or more
of the older siblings encouraged Laurence to enter the Roman Catholic
priesthood. However, Laurence was not disposed to becoming a priest, and
thus became disenchanted with his adult siblings. To escape their
pressure, in 1851 he ran away, going first to Kentucky. He then came
back, wandered for a time, but finally settled in Centralia, Illinois.
There he married Judy Emmalina Holly on 16 Feb 1862.

For reasons uncertain,
but possibly to thwart being traced and found by family members in Ohio,
Laurence altered his name to Garhart. Then in about 1870, he purchased a
covered wagon, and moved his family first to Oklahoma, and later to
Texas. He became active in Baptist churches and helped construct
several. Once in Texas, he became a hog farmer. Laurence was a
spirited man, with a zest for life, and a love for his evangelical religion.

Only in 1913-14, shortly
before he died, did Laurence divulge his true name and Ohio background to his
children and grandchildren in Texas. In a letter dated July 7, 1914, Emma
Lena (Garhart) Bacher (43A-3) wrote to her sister Cora (Garhart) McBay (43A-4),
"... our father told us he was married once before, his name was Gearheart
Stine. We would ask him over and over and he would say, 'I can't make you
understand.' He told me this on the 31st of December
[1913]..." That would have been about 1 year before Laurence's
death, 15 January 1915 at Bowie, Texas.

Laurence's grandson
Albert Bacher (1901-1997) (43A-3A), Bowie, Texas was an avid family historian
and communicated frequently with the Gerhardstein family members in Ohio and
elsewhere. Laurence's many descendants now live in Texas, the
southwestern USA, southeastern USA, Oregon, and California. Few if any in
this family branch still use the Garhart spelling adopted by Laurence.
Laurence and Judy Emmalina's children are:

A
granddaughter of Georg Peter Gerhardstein (#8) and Barbara
Hausmann, Barbara Gerhardstein (1835-1884) and her husband Johannes Heft
(1825-1898) are the ancestors of a Gerhardstein branch that immigrated to
America. Their son John Heft immigrated first to New York City, NY in
about 1890 with his new wife Anna Bischoff, and then to Connecticut in about
1890. The family of Barbara and Johannes Heft include:

A great deal of research went into developing the relationship of this family
to the ancient ancestors in Germany. We are indebeted to Mr. Bernhard
Braun of the Pirmasens Genealogy Study Group and also to (811-113-1) Steven
Messier of Killingworth, Connecticut, a descendant of Johann Heft, et. al.

The following
descriptions document what we know about Johann's siblings. These people
include 3 siblings and 2 half-siblings of Johann Adam Gerhardstein. A
fourth sibling, Regine, died in infancy. Whereas Johann moved his family
to America in 1830, his siblings stayed in Siegen, or located elsewhere.

Urban
WERNER ++ 41. Catherine GERHARDSTEIN

Johann's
oldest sibling, Catherine was born about 1782 in Siegen. She would have
been about 7 years of age when Johann was born in 1789. Catherine married
Urban Werner of Oberlauterbach, s/o Martin Werner and Marguerite Kresselring,
on 9 July 1810 in Siegen. They had 10 children as reported by Jean
Schweitzer of the Cercle Généalogique d'Alsace. One of their grandsons,
Alfred Werner became a noted chemist and won the 1913 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry. Catherine died on 14 June 1854 at Mulhouse,
Bas-Rhin. Urban Werner died on 16 May 1870 at Mulhouse. Source of
this information is Jean Schweitzer. Recorded children of Urban and
Catherine (Gerhardstein) Werner are:

Johann's
brother Antoine was born in Siegen, Bas-Rhin on 5 June 1790. Johann was
about 1 year older than Antoine, and thus we can assume they spent their
boyhood years together. Antoine married Eve Catherine Jost, d/o Valentine
Jost & Marie Eve Wagner, on 10 Jan 1813 in Siegen.

A total of 12 children
of this couple were recorded by Jean Schweitzer, and later verified. For
reasons we can only speculate, only 4 of their 12 children lived past infancy,
and only 3 survived to adulthood. Whether due to disease, still births,
etc. we can only guess why the mortality rate among the infants in this family
was so high. Perhaps Eve Catherine was prone to problematic
pregnancies. However, she otherwise must have been in somewhat good
health, perhaps better than the males in that family, as she lived to the age
of 71.

Whereas Johann and
Magdalena uprooted and moved to America, Antoine and Eve Catherine lived in
Siegen all their lives. Antoine died on 1 Sep 1844 and Eve Catherine on
23 Dec 1862, in Siegen. Of their 3 children who lived to adulthood, only
Christine married. Observe the name of Antoine's oldest son,
Laurent. Perhaps Johann's 2 sons Anthony and Laurence, born in America,
were namesakes of his brother and nephew, left behind in Siegen. The 12
children of Antoine and Eve Catherine are:

Johann'ssister
Walburga was born in Siegen, Bas-Rhin about 1790-91. Her husband was
Georges Warter from Surbourg. Georges and Walburga emigrated in 1809 with
several other families to the village of Sulz, Ukraine. Georges became a
school master in Sulz. He was assassinated in 1920 in Sulz.
Walburga died in Sulz in about 1850. Source of this information is Jean
Schweitzer. It is unknown whether this couple had children.

Joseph
KOBEL ++ 46. Marguerite GERHARDSTEIN

Johann's
half-sister Marguerite was born on 24 July 1795. She married Joseph Koebel
(1793-1842) of Oberseebach, s/o Pierre Kobel and Marie Eve Graff, on 20 July
1816 in Siegen. This couple had 8 recorded children. Marguerite
died on 13 April 1851 in Siegen. A few Kobel family members from
Oberseebach emigrated to America. Charlie Sheridan, and Janet Hunt (see
email addresses) are two such descendant. Note: It is possible/probable
that Marguerite was the step-or-adopted child of Georg Adam, rather than his
biological offspring. Marguerite and Joseph's children include:

The photograph at the left was provided to me by Robert
Gerhardstein, Hudson [near Cleveland], Ohio. The man at right is William
Gerhardstein (1892-1950), Bob's grandfather. William's father William L
Gerhardstein (1864-1932) is at left. Bob first contacted me in May 2004
after seeing this web page and reading my inquiry about his
great-grandfather. Bob has provided me with lots of useful information
about this family in addition to this excellent old photograph. An
estimate would be this photo was taken sometime about 1925-30 during a cold
weather month.

This branch, including William, William L, and William L's father Joseph/John
Gerhardstein represent a branch of the Gerhardstein family that until November
2000 had been unknown to me. Though descendants of William L have lived
in Cincinnati and Cleveland for 100 years or more, it may not have been
recognized by members of my branch, descendants of #43 Johann Adam
Gerhardstein, that this separate branch of Gerhardstein existed in
Cincinnati. In a way, they were hiding from us right in plain view, as
there certainly are descendants of the #43 branch also living in Cincinnati and
in nearby Kentucky, e.g. the many descendants of (431-8) Michael Gerhardstein.

It was during my visit to the Ohio Historical Society's library in Columbus,
Ohio, November 2000, that I first became aware of William L Gerhardstein.
His death certificate, on file at OHS, indicated a birth of January 25, 1864
Louisville, Kentucky and a death of October 5, 1932 Cincinnati, Ohio. It
also identified his wife as Magdaline, father as John Gerhardstein, his last
address, and his occupation. It is 1932 Hamilton County death record
#59255.

The earliest record of this family found so far is the 1850 US Ceusus of
Boston, Massachusetts Ward 12. In that record, John Gerhardstein 25, and
John Jr. 1 are both listed as Joseph Garhardstein. Also listed is Louisa
27. Ward 12 in 1850 was populated mainly by a German population.
The 1850 houshold also included wife Louisa, another couple with 2 children,
and an older woman who could be the mother of John or Louisa. In 1850,
the census did not enumerate Lawrence who was born in about 1851.

The 1860 US census of Louisville, Kentucky enumerates Jn Gerhatstein 35, Louisa
33, Jn 11, Lawrence 9, Louisa 6, and Emma 4. Birthplaces are listed as
France for the adults and Ohio and Kentucky for the children. This family
appears to be living in a house with a second family from France, Peter and
Anne Miller, along with 4 children, all born in France.

The 1870 US census of Louisville, Kentucky does not include John, so he
possibly died between 1863 and 1870. The 1870 census enumerates Louisa
age 47, and children Laurence 18 b. Massachusetts, Emma 13 b. Massachusetts,
and William 7 b. Indiana. Also present in the 1870 household is
Antoinette Nutler age 74 born France. We can assume this family relocated
to Kentucky or Indiana (Louisville area) from Boston, Massachusetts sometime
between 1856 and 1860.

Social Security Death Index (SSDI), the 1870 US Census of Louisville, the 1860
US Census of Louisville, the 1850 US Census of Boston, Massachusetts,
communication from (WmL-517-1) Robert Gerhardstein, and (WmL-515-12) Toni Ann (Gerhardstein)
Rozsahegyi establishes the first 4 generation tree for this family shown
below:

As of June 2004, we have not determined the ancestral connection of this family
with the ancient family in Germany and/or France. The various censuses
list John and Louisa's birthplace both as France and Germany. France
birthplaces for both spouses would almost certainly identify John within the
descendants of Johann Paul Gerhardstein of Salmbach. One possible
parental link for John might be Johann Wilhelm Gerhardstein (#69) b. 1802 in
Salmbach, Alsace, France in the larger chart [ because of the strong presence
of the names John (Johann) and William (Wilhelm) ]. If any readers of
this page know anything about the ancestors and/or descendants of William L
Gerhardstein and John Gerhardstein, please email me.

1) Who are the two people in this photograph? This photo was in my
grandparents and aunt's possession, but there is no identification
included. I believe that one or more of my Gerhardstein cousins has this
same photo, but so far, no one has been able to provide any names. More
likely than not, this is either a Gerhardstein couple or a Ruffing
couple. If you have any knowledge of who this couple could be, please email me.

Following are some
points of interest in Ohio with approximate GPS coordinates using WGS-84
datum. Many of these locations are mentioned in the narratives. Note
that at the time of this entry, the GPS locations published here have not been
verified. If any readers of this web page, living in the Seneca or Huron
County area, would like to drive around with your GPS, record coordinates of
these historical Gerhardstein family locations, and send them to me, I would be
most appreciative.

We first learned of the
ancient castle with our name while our son Jeff was a foreign exchange student
in Jülich, Germany with Youth For Understanding (YFU) and the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange
Program in 1985/86. A newspaper article, "Gerolstein feiert
Stadtjubiläum," telling of the 650th anniversary of Gerolstein provided
our first information. The article explained how the name of the early
town had been Gerhardstein. The village name evolved over time to
Gerholdstein, Gerholstein, and finally to Gerolstein. A few rare
documents show the name as Gerhardtstein.

Several of the USA
Gerhardsteins have now visited Gerolstein and Burg Gerhardstein, also known as
Löwenburg (Lion's Castle). We visited there in October 1993. The
drive through the Eifel to Gerolstein was beautiful and picturesque, almost
like traveling through a story book. We got lost looking for the castle
site. Not speaking German made it difficult but eventually we met up with
an elderly couple, out for an afternoon walk, who were kind enough to help
us. Between their limited English and my meager German, they gave us
directions and we finally found it. We were not able to meet and visit
with historian Peter Horsch who lives nearby the castle.

Gerolstein is now famous
for its natural mineral water, distributed world wide. Gerolstein is
located in the Eifel region, a volcanic mountainous area. A serious
visitor would devote more than the single day that we did. There are
several ancient castles in the region with historic significance.

As with most castles in
the Eifel region, the origin of the Gerhardstein castle is shrouded in mystery,
as few documented records from the time of the castle are available. A
certain Gerhard von Blankenheim is named as builder/architect of the
castle. His name appears for the first time in the documents in
1115. The architect gave his property the name
"Gerhardstein." The names Gerolstein, Gerholstein, Girardstein,
Gerhartzstein, Geroldstein, Jirredstein all derive from this name.

At first only a
fortified tower with modest living quarters stood at the site. It was
important enough that the Count named it after his own name. It was the
fourth Gerhard who was recognized as the builder of the actual castle, who led
the building of the manor house into a larger, defense type structure. In
1468, the castle chapel was built in one of the half towers. The
structure was changed several times over history, such as to accommodate the
invention of fire arms in the 16th century. Damage caused by weather also
required that several structural changes be made. The castle was occupied
until the mid-1800s. Major damage occurred during the winter of 1944/45
due to bombs of American air raids during World War II.

Extending our research
from the United States back to the homeland of Johann Adam Gerhardstein was
enabled through a 1986 letter to the Genealogical Circle of Alsace. Upon
making contact with this research organization, a letter from Professeur Jean
Schweitzer, researcher and author, proved very helpful. Their address is:

Gerhardsteins in the
USA/Canada can now trace their roots into Bas-Rhin, Alsace and Busenberg,
Germany. This knowledge was lost to us for a time, has now been made
available to us due to the research performed by Professeur Jean Schweitzer,
member of the Cercle Généalogique d'Alsace.

Prof. Schweitzer in
about 1981, published his article LES GERHARDSTEIN - GEROLSTEIN, LE DÉCLIN
D'UNE DYNASTIE DE BERGERS EN ALSACE SEPTENTRIONALE in the Proceedings of the
Cercle Généalogique d'Alsace. Proceedings of the Genealogical Circle of
Alsace can be found at EUROPE 944.383 in the Family History Library, Salt Lake
City, Utah.

Prof. Schweitzer is not
related to the Gerhardstein family. Rather, his interest in researching
the ancient Gerhardstein families arose apparently because of the social groups
this family represented. His interest in Gerhardstein resulted out of his
research of shepherd (Berger) groups in southern Palatinat and Alsace.

The Pirmasens
Genealogical Study Group is a group of serious genealogy researchers located at
the city of Pirmasens, Rheinland-Pfälz, Germany. Currently the study
group is concentrating on Catholic parish records of the Pirmasens
region. Specific information about the researchers and their projects can
be found on the web page http://www.genealogie-in-pirmasens.de/geneengl.html.
The study group meets on the first Thursday of each month at 7.30 p.m. (19.30
hours) at Dinies-Restaurant in 66989 Petersberg-Staffelhof near Pirmasens.
Anyone wanting more information should contact the members. Pirmasens is
centrally located in Rheinland-Pfälz, the region of Germany where Gerhardsteins
lived during the 1700-1800s. As such, the surname Gerhardstein shows up
frequently in the research and publications of this group.

Starting on June 6, 2001
email from Gabriele Herold, of the Pirmasens Study Group, has extended the
Gerhardstein history one additional generation, with the addition of Johann
Georg Gerhardstein b.1698 d.1778 to the family tree. Paul Gerhardstein,
previously at the root of our tree, is the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th child of Johann
Georg. Emails from Ms. Herold have included the marriage of Paul
Gerhardstein and Margaretha Lerch with names of fathers and mothers, death
& approximate birth information of Paul's father Johann Georg, and family
member information of 3 of Paul's siblings. We are indeed fortunate for
this find, and indebted to Ms. Herold and Pirmasens Genealogical Study Group
for this new information.

We are grateful to
another member of this group, Bernhard Braun, for helping us sort out the
family details of Georg Peter Gerhardstein, Busenberg.

Many relatives, cousins,
and a few friends have contributed to the Gerhardstein family research.
Larry's and Mary's Grandmother Agatha (Ruffing) Gerhardstein prepared an
interesting scrap book, made from a hardware store catalog, containing loads of
clippings, obituaries, and data about the Bellevue area Ruffing and
Gerhardstein families. Larry's and Mary's Aunt Agatha Gerhardstein served
as custodian of that scrap book for years until her death in November
1991. Several family members managed to find their roots with the help of
Aunt Agatha's scrap book.

Much of the detailed
information we know about Gerhardsteins in Seneca County was dug up and
compiled by Maurice Gerhardstein, St. Stephens OH, Robert Gerhardstein,
Dearborn MI, Julius Gerhardstein, Clyde OH, Linda Oatley, Bellevue OH, my
sister Mary A Gerhardstein, Kitchener ONT Canada, and others. The
information compiled in manuscript form about 1985-90 by Cousin Robert
Gerhardstein has been invaluable in composing the brief histories appearing on
these pages.

Of great importance to
the Gerhardstein family is Professor Jean Schweitzer, Strassbourg, France, who
conducted research in about 1980 on the ancient Gerhardstein families in Pfalz
and Alsace. His articles can be found in the proceedings of the
Genealogical Circle of Alsace, Strasbourg, France. Prior to making
contact with Professor Schweitzer, the USA family knew only that Johann and
Magdalena had emigrated from Alsace, France, and the family before them from
Germany, but did not know the names of towns nor the names of Johann's nor
Magdalena's parents.

In 1985/86 while an
exchange student in Germany, our son Jeffrey Gerhardstein learned about the
castle with our name, Burg Gerhardstein. Several family members have
visited Gerolstein and the castle ruins since then. However, exact
relationship of the current family branches to the early residents of
Gerolstein and Burg Gerhardstein remains unknown.

In 1987, after learning
of Siegen from Jean Schweitzer, I conducted research on the Gerhardstein,
Michel, and Neiss ancestors of that village, using the facilities of the Family
History Center, Richland, Washington.

I first established this
Gerhardstein genealogy web site in about January 1997. At that time, I
also published a few names to Gene Stark's GENDEX online genealogy index.
Establishing Gerhardstein genealogy resources on the Internet had been a goal
of mine for several years. I started being contacted by extended family
members, who had seen the web page and/or GENDEX entries, in about
mid-1997. I have been editing, and adding bits and pieces to this
document ever since. In April 1999, I updated my GENDEX offering to the
present 1650 name database.

In 1999, Sam
Gerhardstein, Columbus, OH learned of a Gerhardstein branch living in
Weisbaden, Germany. Soon, we may learn how this branch relates to our
branch in the USA/Canada.

In 2000, I finally
finished getting the 3rd generation of Gerhardsteins on-line in this web
page. These include mine and Mary's grandfather Lawrence H Gerhardstein
(438-8), and nearly 100 others of the 3rd generation of Gerhardsteins in
America.

Sometime during the year
2000, I hope to devise a better way to automatically create and manage the six
generation outline. The current six generation outline is essentially
up-to-date at this time with the information that I currently have. Sometime
in the not too distant future, I shall do an update to my GENDEX and WORLD
CONNECT PROJECT posting.

In addition to the 7
generation descendant outline, I am currently working on a 11+ generation
descendant chart, which will be annotated using de Villiers/Pama
notations. I am aware of several descendant Gerhardstein branches
with 11-12 generations, and one with 12-13 generations. In my branch,
there are 10 generations. The 11-12 generation descendant chart will be
made available to extended family members via email attachment, CD, or diskette
only. Send ME an email request for a draft
copy of this chart. I am still working on last additions and corrections
to the initial draft copy. It will be available soon.

You can help us by
submitting information and data for the 11-12 generations of Gerhardstein
descendants chart. In my branch, there are currently nine generations of
descendants. I am aware of branches currently at 11 generations, and one
of 12 generations. Please help us by submitting family group sheets for
your own immediate family, your parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren,
extended family, etc. You can download the 2 files below by clicking on
the links, and then do SaveAs located in the File menu on most browsers.
Save the files in some convenient location on your hard drive. The file
FAMILY.TXT is your blank template for creating your group sheets.

File
EXAMPLE.TXT is an example of how to fill out the family group sheet. This
example is the family of my grandparents Laurence H Gerhardstein (438-8) and
Agatha J Ruffing, including as children my father and aunts.

Use your computer's text
editor, NOTEPAD, WRITEPAD, TEXTPAD program, etc. to create text files
containing your family group sheets. For each group sheet, open the
template FAMILY.TXT file, fill in the names, dates, places, etc. and then
SaveAs to a new file name. Be certain to give each file a different
name. If you have never used these programs before, they are easy to
learn. Contact me if you are having trouble doing this and I will provide
additional pointers. If you are using a Macintosh computer, use
SimpleText or BBEdit. Note that these are flat ASCII file editors, not
word processors or HTML editors.

Once you have created
your family group sheets, please attach them to an email message and send to me
at Larry (AT) 3-cities.com. Please also
send the same charts to Linda Oatley at Goldhill
(AT) hmcltd.net. If you prefer to post-mail printed or hand written data
sheets, send me an email requesting my postal mailing addresses. I can
also provide you with a FAX number if you prefer to do it that way. Your
assistance in helping us keep up to date with new births, marriages, and
filling in the gaps is greatly appreciated.

I am now sending out
draft copies of this outline via email, diskette, or CD. Send me email to
request a copy.

Another way you can help
is by doing lookups in the death indexes and obituaries of the states and
cities you live in. State death records are usually available at state
historical libraries or at local family history centers. Compiled
obituaries are usually available in microfilmed newspaper files at local public
libraries. Your local genealogical society can also help you locate these
records. States for which I am currently needing lookups in state death
records or obituaries include Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, and
California. If you wish to help, send me email and I will send you names
and dates for which I need look ups.

Tri-annual family
reunions are organized by descendants of Rodger Gerhardstein (431-473) in
Bellevue, Ohio. The next reunion is scheduled for June 24, 2006.
The reunions normally begin at noon with lunch at 1:00 or 2:00 PM. Again,
the place shall be the Thom Gerhardstein
(431-473-5) farm, 5367 County Road 177, Bellevue, Ohio 44811. Those
wanting more information about the Gerhardstein reunions should contact Linda Oatley (431-473-2), Thom, or Sam Gerhardstein (431-473-7). Please email
your address changes to Linda. Reunion activities usually include the
potluck lunch, displays of family history information and photographs,
discussions of recent genealogical findings, swimming for the kids, visiting
with old friends and relatives, identifying new family ties, and sometimes a
trip to St. Michaels in nearby Seneca County. For Gerhardstein reunion
news and photos, please check out http://gerhardstein.org/.

For about the past 5 years,
I have been building and preparing my family history data in a Family Tree Maker
database. From this database, I have isolated 7 generations of
descendants of Johann Georg Gerhardstein (1698-1778) in a text file. I am
making this descendant outline available in de Villiers/Pama notation. To
view the 7 generation file, just click on the link below.

Only 7 generations have
been included for privacy and security reasons. To have gone to 8
generations would have brought in many living Gerhardsteins, myself
included. I believe that nearly all people in this 7 generation chart are
not living. If you believe any people named therein are still living,
please notify me by email.

Gerhardstein family
members are currently working on a larger generation file of 13 generations or
more. I am now sending out draft copies of this outline via email,
diskette, or CD. Draft #7 contains 1365 descendants, and 615
spouses. Send me email to request a copy. You can help with this
project; please see the section "How You Can Help"
above.

If you wish to download
the 7 generation file or request the larger file via email, you have my
permission to do so, provided that you retain all credits contained
therein. You have my permission to use the data for your personal
research, or email it to other relatives, provided that you cite the sources,
instruct others to do the same, and leave all copyright notices intact. I
request that you not transmit this file, nor data contained herein, to any
person, company, etc. whose purpose is to package, copyright, and publish
family trees for profit or other commercial use, e.g. a CD distribution.
The information on this web site is available to you for your non-commercial,
personal use at no cost. Anyone wanting a copy of this file, and
unable to download, can get a copy from me on diskette, CD-ROM, or hard
copy. Thanks for your cooperation and interest.

On 6 Nov 2000, I posted
my 2084 name, 821 family index to GENDEX,
Gene Stark's online genealogy index. This index was created from my
GEDCOM file using the GED2HTML
version 3.6 program. A total of 433 of these names are Gerhardstein
descendants and spouses. Of those, 178 have the Gerhardstein
surname. This same database has been posted to ROOTSWEB's WORLD CONNECT
PROJECT. RootsWeb is the largest free genealogy service on the
Internet. For the time being, I am maintaining both of these online
genealogy indexes.

Regrettably, Gene Stark
terminated operation of the GENDEX genealogical data index, affective April 22,
2004. Our thanks to GENDEX for many years of wonderful service to the Internet
genealogy community. GENDEX was one of the first Internet genealogy
indexes, and still the best.

Please note:
Except for source data listed elsewhere on this web page, I probably can not
help you with source information, or genealogy research results pertaining to
the many collateral lines in my database. I suggest you join the
GERHARDSTEIN-L mailing list and post questions there. Someone on the list
may be able to assist you. I answer all email from the members who post
on this list. Also, consider joining other surname and area related
mailing lists.

On 17 Feb 1998, the
GERHARDSTEIN-L genealogy research oriented mailing list was established at RootsWeb. The purpose of this list is
to promote communication and information sharing among family members, and to
assist in the sharing of research data, the discussion of research projects and
problems regarding the GERHARDSTEIN surname and its variants, i.e., GEROLSTEIN,
GERHOLSTEIN, GEROLDSTEIN, GERHARDTSTEIN, GERHARDZSTEIN, and others. The
address at RootsWeb to subscribe and unsubscribe is...

As of 5
Nov 2000, GERHARDSTEIN-L has 26 subscribed members. The first posting to
the list of possible historical significance was on the discovery by Sam
Gerhardstein of a branch of the Gerhardstein family living in Weisbaden,
Germany. About every 6 months, I send out an update of genealogy related
activities to this list.

Watch here for more
information about the mailing list, as interest in it grows.

One excellent genealogy
resource on the internet is Genealogy.Com.
Among their many offerings are their on-line genforums, discussion groups, in
the same spirit as Internet news groups. I have successfully used their
genforums, and a few months ago, asked them to establish a genforum for
Gerhardstein, which they have done. I also asked them to establish a
genforum for Ruffing, one of the Gerhardstein's many collateral lines.
The following links will take you to the genforums:

I invite you to visit Gerhardstein.ORG, a front page to
Gerhardstein resources on the Internet. Domain name services and
forwarding for Gerhardstein.ORG are currently being provided by Cydian Technologies, Melville,
NY. Web hosting services are being provided by BOSS Internet Group, Pasco, WA.

Currently
Gerhardstein.ORG has 5 major sections: 1) Welcome, Introduction, and
News, 2) Forums, Mailing Lists, and News Groups, 3) Gerhardstein Genealogy and
Family History, 4) Collateral Lines Genealogy, and 5) Individual Home
Pages. Cyndi Howells, Robert Behra, and others have been notified about
this new domain name and have updated their links. Gerhardstein.ORG
should be showing up on the major search engines soon, e.g. AltaVista,
NorthernLight, Yahoo.

If you have authored
non-commercial web pages containing Gerhardstein family information - current
or historical, family trees, biographical information, vacation highlights,
photo books, reunion details, etc. and would like a link included on
gerhardstein.org, please send me an email containing the full URL of your web
site, along with a brief one-line description, and it will be done.

Following are the email
addresses of some Gerhardsteins on the Internet. Note that these people
may-or-may not have any interest in genealogy. Thus, proceed with
caution. If you have surfed to this page, have found yourself on this
list, and do not want to be listed here, please flame ME
and I will remove your name and email address from this list. Note these
links display email addresses in a manner that is not easily captured by email
address robots. Also note, I do not routinely validate these email
addresses.

Following
are electronic mail links to folks who are not known to be Gerhardstein
descendants, but may be related through collateral lines, or who are conducting
research on collateral surnames. Again, if you have found yourself on
this list and do not want to be here, flame ME
and I will remove your name...

The following
geographically oriented mailing lists may be useful to Gerhardstein
researchers. If you are new to mailing lists, it would be a good idea to
check out the ROOTSWEB Genealogical Data
Cooperative at http://www.rootsweb.com/first.
Become familiar with mailing list procedure, policy, and etiquette - then
subscribe.

To subscribe, select one
of the XXXX-L-request links below and place the single word 'subscribe'
(without quotes) in the body of the message. Leave subject line
blank. Then select the SEND button. You will be notified by email
of your successful subscription.

Select (Digest) to subscribe
in digest mode, which will cut down greatly on the number of email messages you
will receive. To remove your subscription, select XXXX-L-request link and
place the single word 'unsubscribe' (without quotes) in the body of the
message. Leave subject line blank. Then select the SEND
button. To post a message, select (Post). Enter a title and message
text. Then select SEND...

Gradually,
we're beginning to see U.S. Census data appearing on the Internet. The USGENWEB project is a major facilitator of
online census records. As I find online census containing the
Gerhardstein surname (often misspelled), or closely related collateral lines, I
shall include the links here...

Robert
Behra has done an excellent job with his Alsace research web pages. You
will find Siegen, Bas-Rhin, and other villages where the Gerhardstein family
lived in Robert's index of Alsace communities. Check it out...

The
Pirmasens Genealogical Study Group, a group of researchers, presently
extracting Catholic church records of the regions near Pirmasens, which
includes Busenberg and Hauenstein, where Gerhardsteins lived during the
1700s. The links to their web page can be seen at...

The home
page of Thomas A. Pick, La Pine, OR, Births and Marriages in the Eifel Region
of Germany, based on his ongoing research of Catholic Parish Records of the
Eifel Region and Rheinland, is a potentially valuable resource...

The
handwriting displayed above is in the old German Fraktur style. Though
some letter shapes are somewhat different than what I am accustomed to seeing,
with a little inspection, each letter can be made out. I looked for an
Internet guide on Fraktur, but so are the best I have found is the GERMAN WAYS
web site at...

I
recently found a reference on the Internet to Gerhardstein Round, a 20 km
mountain bike trail in Austria. The trail is named for The Gerhardstein,
a mountain near Saint Martin. Geographic coordinates of Mt. Gerhardstein
are N47 32 E12 45. Check out these web pages...

It seems like every family
and surname has its share of legends and improbable stories. These
legends often involve connections to royalty, medieval heroes who perform
impossible tasks, magical accomplishments, connections to mythology,
etc. The surname Gerhardstein is no exception, as displayed by the
Legend of Der Speerwurf.

I found some web pages
that refer to the play "Der Speerwurf," recently presented on a
castle Gerhardstein stage, at Gerolstein, Germany. Of those, only one is
still active. The page linked below provides a nice summary of the play
with photographs of the actors.

I asked
my son Jeff to provide an approximate translation of one of the pages.
This play is also referred to, and the story provided in some detail in the
Peter Horsch booklet, cited above. Following are
Jeff's comments...

... Without translating
everything word for word, this web page is about a play called "Der
Speerwurf," which means roughly "the spear toss." The
play's main character is a certain Count named Graf Ulrich von Gerhardstein,
who must have lived sometime during the Middle Ages [late 1100s], i.e. medieval
times, and was in love with a certain Countess from a neighboring town or
castle, her name being Katharina von Pyrmont.

Apparently this is a
play that was first performed in the fifties, and then later resurrected for
the 500 year celebrations in 1986. At that time it was performed on the
"nature stage" at the castle Gerhardstein and was quite well
received. It seems that it is being re-enacted this month [August, 2000], also
at the castle. It sounds like this "stage" must have been used
for the first time in 1986, though the play was performed at the castle in 1953
[when city's rights restored], perhaps on a different stage, and now that it's
the year 2000 and therefore an important year, the town drama company has
decided to perform it there again.

The play is referred to
here as a "Sage," or saga, which I would take to mean that though the
story is fictional, the persons represented in it may be based in fact.
Possibly to impress the duchess, or win her hand, Ulrich has to throw a spear
from the balcony of his castle across the Kyltal, which I assume is the Kyl
Valley, to Munterley, which must be where Katharina lived. Ulrich
succeeds in tossing the spear across the valley when he sells his soul to the
devil. Having succeeded, he brings Katharina home with him and makes her
his wife. Everything, as you might imagine, ends in tragedy or disarray.

The site says this play
has been very popular each time that it has appeared, so that is another reason
for it to be performed again.